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Thursday, November 12, 2009

Recipe for Baked Whole Wheat Flatbread with Olive Oil and Za'atar

Delicious and easy flatbread, with or without Za'atar!

Yesterday I shared the recipe for 100% White Whole Wheat Bread with Olive Oil from Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day. That recipe makes bread dough which can be stored in the fridge and used later, and I promised that today I'd show what I made with the rest of my dough. The book has several recipes for flatbread that look tasty, and I used the flatbread suggestions from Zoe and Jeff to make this Whole Wheat Flatbread with Za'atar. My rolling pin skills aren't really up to par, but I was still pretty happy with how the flatbread turned out. It turned out to be an effective way to deliver hummus to your mouth, and I think it would also taste good dipped into hot soup.

One of the best things about blogging is meeting other bloggers and last October I met an impressive young woman named Maris Callahan who writes the blog In Good Taste. I saw her at BlogHer 09 in Chicago, and again at BlogHerFood. Maris knows I love The Spice House, and because of my recent obsessionwith Sumac, when she went there lately she bought me this Za'atar, a blend that contains Sumac, and sent it in the mail. What a great surprise, thanks Maris!

Za'atar is a blend of Sumac, thyme, hyssop, white sesame seed, and Greek oregano. Traditionally, flatbread is dipped in olive oil and sprinkled with Za'atar. I sprinkled the Za'atar on my flatbread before baking, and it was wonderful. This flatbread with Za'atar is my entry for Weekend Herb Blogging, hosted by Astrid from Paulchen's Food Blog this week. WHB just celebrated its fourth birthday, under the care of Haalo.

Use the recipe from 100% White Whole Wheat Bread with Olive Oil to make the dough, and you'll definitely want to chill it for this recipe, because the dough was a little challenging to roll out even when it was chilled. Start with a grapefruit-sized piece of dough, dusted with flour, and fold it under to make a ball with a smooth top.

I really wished I'd had a silicone baking mat to roll out the dough on, but I managed to get it rolled out to the shape of my baking sheet. The book says use as little flour as possible, but I did have to use a bit.

I put a piece of parchment paper on the baking sheet, with the dough on top of the parchment. If you don't have parchment, I'd oil the pan. (Of course I would be baking this on a baking stone if I had one.) When the dough was rolled out, I started preheating my toaster oven. (I would use a bigger oven if mine wasn't broken!)

I used the end of my rolling pin to make dimples in the dough which will catch the olive oil. (Next time I might use something bigger.)

Then I brushed the dough with a generous amount of olive oil, probably a little more than a tablespoon of oil.

I sprinkled a generous amount of Za'atar on over the olive oil, probably about 2 tsp. of Za'atar. The dough needs to rest a few minutes before baking.

Baking time will depend on the thickness of your bread, but mine was browned and cooked through in about 17 minutes. I didn't use the water tray to make steam for this bread, because the olive oil will prevent a crisp crust on the flatbread anyway. If you want a crisper bottom, you can remove the parchment paper the last few minutes of baking time.

Baked Whole Wheat Flatbread with Olive Oil and Za'atar
(Makes one flatbread about 8" x 11" and 1/4" thick, probably about 4 servings as a snack, dough recipe and flatbread instructions adapted from Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day.)

Instructions:
Break off a grapefruit-sized piece of chilled dough, dust with flour, and place on cutting board or silicone baking mat to roll out dough. (I will definitely be buying a silicone mat to make this next time. If you don't have one, you'll need some flour under the flatbread.)

Roll the dough out so it's about 1/4 inch thick and fits the size of your baking sheet. Preheat oven to 450F/230C and if you have a baking stone, put it in the oven to heat. Cut a piece of parchment the same size as the baking sheet, and put flatbread on the parchment and place on baking sheet.

Use your fingers or the end of something to make small dimples in the dough to catch olive oil. (I used the end of my rolling pin.) Brush the surface of the dough with olive oil, then sprinkle with Za'atar. Let dough rest 15-20 minutes while the oven heats.

Bake flatbread until it's browned and cooked through. Baking time will depend on the thickness of your dough, but I baked mine for 17 minutes. Let flatbread cool for a few minutes, then cut into strips to serve.

I ate this with hummus, but it would also be delicious served with other types of dip, used to dip in soup, and would be perfect to use to make Fattoush.

Note: Za'atar from The Spice House is a blend Sumac, thyme, hyssop, white sesame seed, and Greek oregano. Other blends are often used, and it can also be spelled Zahtar, Zaatar or Zatar.

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I saw this made on Diners Drive-ins and Dives and ever since have wanted to make it. I however am a horrible baker to begin with and now it has to be gluten free. I think I'm going to give it a try. I always use Penzeys spices. I just looked at their catalog and was really surprised to find they sell it too. Their blend is sans oregano. I'm headed there today and I'm going to try and adapt this recipe. Yours looks amazing!

I went to check my spice pantry and I already have Zatar. I guess I got that far and stopped. I'm wondering if I can use the Chebe all purpose mix or Breads From Anna mix to make the flatbread. There are some great gluten free flat bread recipes out there. I'll let you know if it works. I'll have to check out The Spice House. Interesting the relation with Penzeys. Thank you for the inspiration to make this. It's going to be my lunch!

I've been using za'atar more lately, too. for a while, I'd forgotten how much I like it. I remember the first time I had it, at a Lebanese festival where men had heated overturned woks and were toasted bread smeared with za'atar and olive oil on these woks, over wood fires. It was heavenly.

OK, I made the gluten free version today and it was amazing. I cheated and used Chebe package of all purpose mix. Kneaded the dough, rolled it out, spread on lots of olive oil and sprinkled with Penzeys version of Zaatar. Baked 25 min @ 375 and it turned out great. The only problem is I can't stop eating it. So glad you inspired me to make this. I can say we will eat this every month for sure and probably more often than that. Thanks Kalyn!

I have to say thanks, Kalyn, for introducing this wonderful spice blend to my pantry! After reading so much on your blog about zatar, I bought a bottle through Penzy's and I have been extremely happy with its lemony, peppery and earthy taste. I am having a lot of fun using this spice blend in so many middle eastern dishes - all thanks to you!

Thanks for joining the conversation! I love hearing from readers and even though I can't always reply to every comment, I will always answer specific questions on a recipe as soon as possible. Sometimes I'm answering by iPhone, so my replies may be short!

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